Teplo- The Lost Country
by Maveriqua
Summary: Matthew's father, Arthur, was obsessed with finding Teplo, a lost country in Siberia that supposedly was very advanced and rich. Matthew longs to continue his work, and gets his chance when his half-brother, Alfred, organizes an expedition. However, Teplo is still thriving, and all is not as it seems. Based off Atlantis, the Lost Empire. T for language and violence. RusCan, mostly
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Ta-da! New story!**

 **Quick, wasn't I?**

 **This was sort of inspired by pastaaddict's Hetalia Tales series (which is really awesome and you should probably go check out)**

 **This is an adaptation of _Atlantis: The Lost Empire_ which was a Disney movie that didn't do well in terms of sales, but is one of my favorites.**

 **So, without further ado, Katyusha?**

 **Katyusha: Maveriqua does not own me or my brothers**

* * *

The year was 1147. All was quiet on the frozen tundra, until...

BOOM!

Something exploded in the distance, creating a mushroom cloud. Several figures on what looked like flying bobsleds flew away from the explosion, shouting to each other in Russian. Translated, it went something like this:

"You fucking idiot!" screamed one pilot to another. "I knew we should not have followed that order!"

"It does not matter now! We have to warn Teplo!" shouted another.

"Too late!" shouted a third as the shock wave from the explosion caught up. Most of the pilots were thrown off their vehicles, but two managed to escape. They flew near the speed of sound to a city with many multicolored domes.

One of them shouted a warning to a guard in the highest dome. The guard put a megaphone to his mouth. "To the shelters!" he yelled, reaching the whole city, "Everyone to the shelters!"

On cue, people below ran, screaming and panicking, to the center of the city. In the crowd, there were two children, a boy and a girl. The girl, with short, white blond hair, was pulling the younger boy along. "Ivan!" she yelled, "Let us go!"

As she pulled her brother along, Ivan dropped the sunflower he was holding. He tried to run back and get it, but his sister held him fast. "Ivan, come on, there's no time!" Suddenly, a golden light shone on both of the siblings. The girl looked up and the golden necklace around her neck began to glow.

Nearer to the shelters, a bearded man looked back at the siblings. "No..." he whispered as he saw the light. He shooed his youngest daughter forward and ran back.

The girl was staring at the light. Little by little, she floated up towards it. Little Ivan did not notice until his scarf, wound partway around his sister's hand, started to unravel.

"Sestra!" screamed Ivan, trying to grasp his sister's boots. They slipped out of his grasp and Katyusha floated higher towards the gold light. "Sestra!" Ivan screamed again. It was too late. A dome closed over the center of the city. Those who had been locked out pounded on it, but to no avail. The shock wave reached the city and the domes started to fall.

Inside the dome, Ivan reached for his sister again. "Katyusha! Sestra!"

The man knelt beside Ivan and held him close. "Close your eyes! Do not look!" But the man disobeyed his own words as Katyusha spun inside the light.

The dome containing the center of the city sunk into the earth, which closed over it.

The tundra was peaceful again.

* * *

 **Teplo: The Lost Country**

* * *

 **You know, I never realized how dramatic that scene was until I wrote parts of it down...huh...**

 **Please review!**

 **And if you can guess who is who...you win...an internet hug!**

 **Katyusha: Welp, I'm dead.**

 **Ivan: Sestra, no!**


	2. Chapter 2: 800 Years Later

**Yes! Chapter Two! Before you ask, I was on vacation and the first chapter was short so I figured you wouldn't mind (looks at views and sees one from the Russian Federation) Ivan? Is that you?**

 **A Broken Imagi-NATION: Glad you're so enthusiastic!**

 **I still own nothing!**

* * *

 **800 years later, Arkona Lions Museum, Ontario, Canada**

Matthew Kirkland cleared his throat. "Hello, gentlemen. Thank you for, ay, letting me speak to you today." He pulled down a map of Eurasia (because yes, people call it that). "N-now, what I want to, ay, speak about today is the lost country of Teplo." Matthew privately cursed himself for stuttering. He'd have to work on that. "Now, you may say, 'this is a myth, right?' Well, I believe that it is not!" Breathe. "However, the only way to find out for sure would be to look for a very special artifact. My father told me about it. It was written by an Italian merchant captain named Dux Vargas, an avid explorer. " _And womanizer_ _,_ he thought privately. "Now, Captain Vargas supposedly traveled to Teplo, and he had a journal that he kept all his adventures in. It is called 'Il Diario del Capitano,' which in English means, 'The Captain's Journal'." Breathe. "If there is any proof that Teplo exists, it will be in this journal! Now, the most obvious location for this journal is in Italy, in Captain Vargas's home city of Rome. If we can find the journal, and by extension, the city, it could tell us so much about ancient history!" Matthew paused to adjust his bowtie. "I will take questions now."

His audience of photographs remained silent. Matthew breathed out. He'd stuttered less that time, and he hadn't forgotten his lines. That was good. The board would have to listen to him now.

The phone on his desk rang and Matthew picked it up. "Hello?" he asked. His eyes widened. "They what!" He grabbed his map and notes and dashed out the door.

* * *

Lutz Beilschmidt breathed a sigh of relief, turning to his companion Chiku Honda. "That was a good idea to change the meeting time. He'll never make it now."

Chiku shook his head. "Much as I respected his father, if I have to hear the word 'Teplo' one more time-"

"Mister Beilschmidt! Mister Honda!" shouted a voice.

"Mein gott," muttered Lutz, breaking into a sprint.

"Wait!" yelled Chiku, following behind him. The two made it to the parking lot and tried to climb in their respective cars. However, Matthew grabbed Chiku's sleeve just as he was getting into his Honda.

"Please, sir! I just received notification about the meeting if you give me another chance, I'll-" Chiku threw him off and climbed into his car, speeding off. Matthew grabbed onto the hood and held on as the car dragged him down the street. "Sir, if you don't help me with this, I'll be forced to resign! I have my slip right here and I'll-" Chiku made a sharp turn, throwing Matthew off. He landing with a thump on the ground, coughing from the car exhaust. He sighed and pulled out his slip as it started to rain.

* * *

Two hours later, Matthew walked back into his apartment. _What now_? he thought. _That was probably my last chance..._ He opened the door. "Here, Kunajino. Here, boy." The lightning flashed and Matthew jumped back. There was a man in his house.

" 'Ello love," said the man in a Cockney accent. He held up a pastry. "Cupcake?"

Matthew's mouth dropped open. "Who, ay, wha? Why are you, ay, in, ay, my house?"

The man laughed lightly. "Ah, right. How rude of me. You weren't home, so I let myself in. My name is Oliver, and I was sent by my employer. He has an offer I think you'll be interested in, love." He winked.

Matthew frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the man's friendliness. "Who, ay, exactly is your employer?"

"He's a man by the name of Alfred Kirkland. Maybe you've heard of him?"

* * *

A day later, Oliver's car pulled into the driveway of a large mansion just outside New York City. Matthew looked up at it as he stepped out of the car. After the two boys had grown up, Alfred had gotten the lion's share of the inheritance. Matthew didn't complain. He didn't need much, and didn't even want much until he had started working on the Teplo project. But Alfred had always been interested more in sports and space then history and ancient ruins. They hadn't spoken in years. What could Alfred want?

Oliver led Matthew into the house and into an elevator that took them down into a basement. Once the doors opened, Oliver pushed Matthew out, smirked, then shut the gated elevator door.

Matthew walked forward, shaking slightly. "A-alfred?" he called.

He was immediately glomped from the side by a man with glasses and an aviator jacket. "Mattie, dude!" laughed Alfred. "How ya doing?"

Matthew yelped as he landing on the floor, the large American on top of him. "Ah! Fine! Al! Off!"

Alfred laughed and jumped off of Matthew, pulling him up. "Okay, so, the reason I called you here is because I have this super cool idea and I need your help!"

Matthew blinked. "Wh-what idea? I thought you were investing in space."

Alfred sighed. "Yeah, but turns out it'll take years to develop that technology. Apparently a hamster powered engine wouldn't generate enough fuel. So, I was walking around a week ago and I found some stuff in the storage room and..." Alfred reached into his jacket and pulled out a wrapped packet, "I found this." He handed it to Matthew, who hesitated. "Well, go on."

Matthew gently undid the knot and unwrapped the package. He gasped. Inside the package was a worn leather book. Under the book was a folder, but Matthew didn't pay attention to that. He opened the book carefully. Inside, all the words were in Latin. Luckily, Matthew had paid attention in high school.

Translation:

 _The rumors are true! The city of Teplo does exist! I have established trade with the locals. The women are very pretty..._

Matthew started hyperventilating. "Oh mon dieu," he whispered. "Alfred, do you know what this means?"

Alfred shrugged. "I dunno, bro. I don't do dead languages."

Matthew tapped the cover of the book. "This...this is the Merchant's Journal! This could be the key to finding Teplo!"

Alfred snorted. "Teplo? You mean that old place Dad was alway blabbing about? Seriously, you're still hooked on that? That place is just a story!"

Matthew balled his fists. First the board, and now his own brother? "Says the twenty-five year old man who believes in aliens. Look, this might not be important to you, but it's important to me. It was important to Dad, too. I am going to find that city if I have to rent a sledge-"

Alfred burst out laughing. "A sledge? Really, bro?" He crossed to a desk and pressed a button. The top of the desk flipped over, revealing several models: drills, balloons, and a large submarine. "You gotta think big!"

Matthew's mouth dropped open. "Wha...?"

Alfred grinned. "I got it all planned. When I found that journal, I called up the guys Dad worked with before. Turns out they'd found the journal a few years back. Two problems. One, none of them can read a lick of Latin. Two, they needed money. I had the second problem covered. So all we need is a Latin-y guy."

Matthew put a hand to his head. "Al, this all so fast! I need to make arrangements! I need to pack-"

"Oliver already packed ya," said Alfred, grinning.

"My clothes?" asked Matthew.

"Packed."

"My job?"

"You quit this morning, remember?"

"My bear?"

Kuma poked his head out from behind the desk. "Who?"

Matthew picked him up and laughed giddily. "My God."

 **Matthew: Is this actually happening?**

 **Alfred: No, silly, it's a fanfiction!**

 **Matthew: ...I walked into that one**

 **Kumajiro: Who are you?**

 **Matthew: I'm Matthew!**

 **Me: Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Off to Teplo

**Hi guys!**

 **I'm back!**

 **Guest: Ivan! What are you doing outside the story?**

 **I own nothing. Nothing at all. Except my teddy.**

* * *

Matthew leaned over the side of the ship and threw up. "Ugh," he groaned, "Note to self: when someone tells you not to eat the cupcakes, _do not eat the cupcakes_."

Only four hours out of port and things were already going wrong. Matthew walked down to the loading bay where the submarine was. Teplo supposedly was right against the Arctic Circle, flooded, and would be what was now the East Siberian Sea. A submarine would be required to find a passage to the city.

As Matthew walked down to the loading dock, he noticed Oliver, dressed in fluorescent clothes, arguing with a man with a curl on the side of his head.

"Broccoli preserves? These are not delicious!" whimpered the Italian man.

"Deliciousness isn't the point, Feliciano," Oliver reminded him. "It's about nutrition. You know, the four basic food groups?"

The Italian man brightened. "Oh, yes! Pasta, tomatoes, pasta, and PASTA!" He ran off as Oliver shook his head.

Alfred came up beside Matthew. "Time to get on the sub," he said.

Matthew smiled. "Are you sure you can't come?"

Alfred laughed. "I have to stay and keep an eye on things on the surface. I'm kinda bummed, but hey!" He clapped Matthew on the shoulder. "Now's your time to shine!"

The horn sounded and Matthew ran up the gangplank. He waved as he climbed down the hatch. "Thank you, Alfred!" He called. "Thank you!"

Matthew walked to find his room. He passed through a hallway lined with pipes and opened the door to his assigned room. He flopped down on the bottom bunk, immediately standing back up again after hearing dim yowls.

On the top bunk, a man with messy dark hair sat up. He stared at Matthew sleepily. "You...have disturbed...the cats!"

"What?" asked Matthew.

The man leapt down. "You have disturbed...the cats!" He threw off the blanket, revealing dozens of cats of all sizes and colors.

"W-why are there so many cats?" asked Matthew.

"Never mind," said the man. "Who are you? Why are you here?"

"I-"

"Never mind," said the man, pulling out a magnifying glass and grabbing Matthew's hand. "I will find out." He studied Matthew's hand and muttered under his breath about "paper fibers" and "ink". Suddenly he released the hand and Matthew stumbled back. The man gave him an accusatory glare. "You are linguist...and a Canadian! You must leave, now!" He pushed against Matthew. "Out! Out!"

Matthew bumped into someone. He looked up to see a stern man with glasses. "You moved his cats, didn't you?" he asked. Matthew nodded. The man sighed and adjusted his glasses. "Hercules, what have I told you about keeping so many cats?"

"But he-"

The bespectacled man took out a spray bottle and squirted Hercules with it. Hercules hissed and dove back under his covers. The man sighed and held out his hand. "I am Doctor Roderich Edelstein."

"Matthew Kirkland," Matthew replied. He nearly lost his footing as the submarine's engines started.

They were off.

* * *

 **Alfred: (begins humming the Star Wars theme)**

 **Me: Well, I can't say it's the wrong genre...**

 **Hercules: (cuddles with his cats protectively)**

 **Me: Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Robot walrus off the port bow

**Woohoo! Keeping to my schedule to update so far! And the school year's ending in 1.5 months (fingers crossed for decent grades)**

 **Whatareyoudoing- Okay, but you're going to be in the story in the next chapter so we might want to get ready (hands a necklace)**

 **Lovino- The writing lady doesn't own anything. Now where are my tomatoes?**

* * *

The main crew stood on the bridge of the submarine as Matthew struggled to get the projector screen set up. There were six in all, not counting Oliver and Matthew. A tall man with brown hair and purple eyes walked over to Rodrich. "Where's Hercules?" he asked. Rodrich frowned and opened the vent above his head. Out fell the Greek man, along with three cats. Hercules and his cats landed on their feet. Then Hercules promptly lay back down and went to sleep.

The tall man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He looked at Matthew. " Mr. Kirkland, you may begin."

Matthew finally managed to straighten the screen and turn on the projector. The first picture was the first page of the Merchant's Journal. "Okay, so according to the journal, we're on the right track." He pulled up a second slide, a map of the Arctic. He pointed to their location. "We're here, and all we have to, to do," _Stop stuttering you idiot!_ , "is make it another few miles northwest." He pulled up a third slide with another page from the journal. This one had a drawing of what looked like some kind of mutant walrus. "We're, ay, going to face a few obstacles. According to this page, the city had some kind of guardian. Some kind of horrifying monster that make have looked," he switched the slide again, "something like this."

His audience let out a few snickers at the picture of a toddler Alfred making a face at the camera. "What a cute little bambino!" cooed Feliciano. Matthew put his head in his hands to hide his blush.

Suddenly, the submarine jerked to the side. A couple of people fell over. A grumpy-looking man who looked like Feli ran down to a lower level of the bridge and popped on some headphones. The purple-eyed man followed him. Matthew marveled at how much they looked alike and wondered if they were related. "What is it?" asked the purple-eyed man. "A whale?"

The sub shuddered again. The grumpy man shook his head. "Bigger."

Something appeared outside the porthole and everyone rushed to look. It was big alright. And it was turning around and heading back for the ship. Feliciano took out a white flag and started waving it. "We surrender!" he screamed.

The creature rammed the sub again. "I don't think it can hear you!" yelled Matthew.

"Captain Vergas!" yelled a crewmember, "We're filling up with water!"

The purple-eyed man turned to the bridge. "Ready the escape pods! And fire all our torpedos!"

The ship shuddered and a crack appeared in the ceiling. Water started pouring in. Matthew grabbed the journal and ran with the others to the lower decks. He climbed into an escape pod with Feli, his grumpy twin, and an albino that Matthew hadn't seen before.

"Kesesesese!" laughed the albino. "This is going to be ze awesomest rollercoaster ever!"

Matthew shook his head. "I hate rollercoasters," he muttered.

"Sucks to be you then!"

The escape pods shot out of the sub. They were almost too late. The shock wave from the sub exploding knocked the escape pods around, destroying a few of them. The rest went into a narrow tunnel, spiraling away from the creature. Matthew threw up a little in his mouth. The pods swirled and spiraled until, eventually, they popped out onto the snowy tundra.

"Kesesesese! I knew it!" laughed the albino.

* * *

Roderich's wife, Elizabeta, put the last floating candle on the water. There were too many. Half the crew were still in the sub when it exploded. The captain sighed and turned to the remaining crew. "When we started out," he began, "we had ten thousand crew members. Now, we have half that many. I know that some may need time to mourn, but time is something we do not have." He pulled out a knife and studied it. "We must reach the city and make sure their sacrifice was not in vain. But I, Luciano Vergas, will try to keep you safe. I am not the one this expedition depends on, however." He turned to Matthew. "Mr. Kirkland, our lives are in your hands."

"Mio dio," muttered Lovino. "We're doomed."

* * *

 **Matthew: N-nice to see you have confidence in me...**

 **Elizabeta: Question. Why a walrus?**

 **Me: Just because it's an Arctic animal. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5: Getting to know you

**Gilbert: Kesesesese! You're late!**

 **Me: So sue me. School's winding down, and I've had homework to do.**

 **Crismon- Thanks!**

 **I don't own Atlantis or Hetalia**

* * *

The trek was long and hard. Over hills, most of which were slippery with ice, fighting off polar bears and walruses. Matthew's teammates didn't make it any easier for him.

Day 21- Matthew took a swig from a canteen, thirsty. The albino, Gilbert ran up to him. "Um...did you just drink from that bottle." Matthew nodded. Gilbert put a hand to his head. "Nein! That's the nitroglycerin!" Matthew gulped. "Okay," Gilbert continued. "Just. Try not. To. Move."

"Boom!" yelled Oliver. Matthew shrieked and both of the men ran off laughing.

 **Hetalia!**

Day 30- Matthew woke up from a nap. His hand felt warm. He looked down and realized his hand wasn't the only thing that was wet. Gilbert's signature laugh came from behind him.

 **Hetalia!**

Day 45- Lovino smacked Matthew with his food tray, spilling some tomato sauce on his shirt. "Oops, sorry," snarked Lovino. Matthew sighed and wiped his shirt.

 **Hetalia!**

Day 56- The team, minus Matthew, was gathered around the campfire. Feliciano put a bowl full of pasta in everyone's laps. "Pasta again, fratello?" sighed Lovino.

"Ve~ I thought you liked my pasta," said Feli, looking downcast.

"I do!" Lovino said quickly. "But we've been having pasta for a month. Literally! It's getting old!"

"Speak for yourself," said Elizabeta, putting her frying pan aside and chowing down. Even Hercules woke up when he smelled food.

Feliciano took a bowl over to Matthew, who was sitting by himself, studying the Journal. "Thanks, Feli," said Matthew.

Feliciano smiled. "Ve~" He walked back over to the others. "Matthew looks pretty lonely over there," he said. "I think some people have been a bit hard on him."

Elizabeta glared at Gilbert, who looked away innocently. Roderich looked over his shoulder. "Matthew!" he called, "Over here!"

Matthew looked up, then walked over warily. He looked at the empty seat next to Elizabeta. "Go on," she said, smiling. "I don't bite."

Just as Matthew sat down, Gilbert slid a whoopee cushion under him. Matthew blushed and Gilbert fell over laughed. Elizabeta sighed and picked up her frying pan. Gilbert immediately stopped laughing and started running, Elizabeta going after him.

Matthew sighed and reopened the Journal. Lovino frowned. "Haven't you read that a hundred times by now?"

Matthew nodded and pointed at a page. "Yeah, but this makes no sense. The entry starts out talking about the 'Center of Teplo' but just as he's about to say what it is," he flipped the page, "it cuts off, like there's a page missing."

Roderich shrugged. "It's an old book. It's definitely possible for pages to have been lost."

Meanwhile, Elizabeta finally caught up with Gilbert and whacked him hard on the head.

 **Hetalia!**

Matthew lay with his head sticking out the front of his tent. He looked at Elizabeta, who was setting up her tent across from him. "So, is Gilbert going to be okay?"

Elizabeta rolled her eyes. "He has a hard head. He'll be fine."

Rodrich shook his head as he climbed into his own tent. "He won't learn his lesson, either. He's my cousin and I've had to deal with him since I was five."

Elizabeta nodded. "Most of us knew each other before the expedition, actually. Feli is Gilbert's brother's boyfriend, and Lovino is Feliciano's brother."

Roderich unrolled his sleeping bag and laid down. "Hercules is Lovino's great-uncle, and Arthur knows Hercules since they went on an archeological dig together."

Matthew blew out his breath. "What about Luciano?"

"He's Feli and Lovino's cousin. Supposedly, they're all descended from the guy who wrote the journal."

"Seriously?" asked Matthew. "Wow!"

"Why did you tell him that, piano bastard?" snapped Lovino. "Now he's going to go all fanboy and I'll never get away from it."

Matthew blinked. "What? I mean, mean, I won't bring it, it, up if you don't want to..."

Lovino scowled. "Look, the only reason I came here was to stop my idiot fratello from getting himself killed. Nothing more. Nothing less." He flopped down in his sleeping bag and turned decisively away from Matthew. "Night."

"Night," replied everyone. Matthew sighed and watched the fireflies crawling on the hive above his head until he fell asleep.

* * *

 **Alfred: Lemme guess. Those bugs are going to screw them over.**

 **Me: Yup.**

 **Alfred: I'm still confused why I couldn't go.**

 **Me: You'll see.**

 **Reviews are much appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6: Fire, fire everywhere

**Sweet! I'm a day early!**

 **Ivan, here's your clothes, get in the story...please?**

 **Ivan: Da! (goes through the fourth wall)**

 **Me: I still own nothing!**

* * *

While the group was asleep, several figures appeared out of the cave. They wore heavy wool uniforms and their faces were covered with black shiny visors. One of them, a very large figure, walked over near Matthew's tent. Matthew had left his bag outside, which the large figure poked through curiously. He pulled out a picture of two blond boys, one grinning, the other trying to hide behind a green eyed man with the most ridiculous eyebrows the figure had ever seen. And Ivan of the Braginsky dynasty had seen many ridiculous and strange things.

Suddenly, there was a rustling inside the tent next to Matthew's. Ivan quickly replaced the photograph and hurried off. And not a moment too soon. Gilbert slid out of the tent, groaning. He yawned. "The awesome me has to take a piss!" he announced to no one in particular. He walked over to a rock and did his business. Let's not elaborate, we all know what happens. Just as Gilbert zipped back up he smelled something burning. He turned around to see fire.

"Fire!" he screamed. "Wake up! There is unawesome fire!" Everyone scurried out of their tents, grabbing what they could.

Matthew grabbed his bag and ran. Trucks started up and sped away from the wildfire. Fire was all around them. Left, right, back. There was so much fire no one saw the edge of the cliff until it was too late.

"AHHHHH!"

* * *

Luciano lit a match. "Okay, count off, who's dead?"

There were groans as people sat up and tried to turn on their jeeps.

Rodrich sat up and groaned. "Ow, my vital regions. Where are we?"

Hercules stumbled out of the back of one of the jeeps. He picked up a little dust, sniffed it, and sneezed. "Ash," he said. "We're in a volcano."

That stopped everyone in their tracks. Oliver gulped. "Ah, love, is there any chance of it erupting? Just for curiosity's sake."

Hercules shrugged. "The ash is old, so the last explosion was long ago. Still, we'd better get out of here."

Luciano nodded. "Okay, Kirkland, how do we get out of here?" Matthew didn't reply.

"Matthew?" Rodrich called.

"History bastard?" called Lovino.

But Matthew couldn't hear them. He was laying on a pile of rocks. He opened his eyes slowly. He'd lost his glasses and his head hurt. He looked up and gasped. There were several blurry, white-clad figures in front of him. The only part of them that wasn't white were their faces, which were pure black. He tried to scoot back and gasped in pain. He had a large cut on his upper arm. One of the figures, a large one, knelt in front of him and removed his visor. Matthew couldn't make out much of the figures face besides two large violet eyes. The figure dug inside his collar and pulled out a necklace with a glowing gold gem. He touched it to Matthew's wound and put his hand on it. There was a slight glow, and when the figure took his hand away, the wound was gone.

The figure pressed something metal into Matthew's hands. He squinted and realized they were his glasses. He put them on. The blurry figure turned into a large, smiling man with pale blond hair. The man put his visor back on. Matthew opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get anything out...

"Matthew! There you are!" he heard Elizabeta call.

The figures bolted. "Hey, wait!" yelled Matthew, running after as fast as his legs could carry him.

* * *

 **Matthew: My hockey training is finally coming in handy!**

 **Ivan: I have healing powers then?**

 **Me: Sort of. You'll see.**

 **Natalya: MARRY ME!**

 **Ivan: (runs)**


	7. Chapter 7: Much Latin with bad grammer

**Whew! I am back, guys! Sorry I've been gone for a while, exams kinda wore me out. Hope fully I'll get back on my regular schedule.**

 **Prussia: The awesome me would be done with this story by now! Kesesesesese!**

 **Germany: (rolls eyes) Maveriqua owns nothing. Can I go now?**

* * *

Matthew followed the group of men through the caves. They were sprinkled with fluorescent plants and carvings, but Matthew didn't stop to look at them. He tripped a few times, but tried to keep up. _Left, right, sloping up..._ Suddenly, the caves opened up onto a high cliff. Matthew's jaw dropped. Below the cliff was a sprawling city. They were all colored in teals and blues and reds, a bit faded, but still somewhat bright.

"Whoa," gasped someone behind Matthew. Matthew turned around to see that the expedition had followed him. Elizabeta stepped out. "Is this..."

"I think so," whispered Matthew.

Suddenly, several white clad figures came over the edge of the cliff. Feliciano screamed and clung to his brother, waving a white flag frantically. Lovino was not happy. "Who the hell are these bastards?" he snapped, trying to wrangle Feliciano and calm him down.

"I guess they're from Teplo," said Rodrich.

One of the figures stepped forward. "Salve. Quis estis vos et cūr estis hic?" [Greetings. Who are you and where are you from?]

There was silence. Then Prussia elbowed Matthew. "Your turn, Latin boy."

Matthew stepped forward nervously and polished his glasses. "Um...sumus viatāmus. Audirī sumus de civitate vestra et venīmur videre est." [We are travellers. We heard about your city and came to visit it.]

"I can't understand a damn thing!" muttered Romano.

"Hush!" snapped Elizabeta.

"Look at the translation in the brackets," muttered Hercules.

"Ego sum Ivanus. Ubi a sumus?" [I am Ivan. Where are you from?] asked the man, taking off his mask. It was the man Matthew had seen before.

Matthew thought about how to explain it? Did these people even know they were underground? Probably not, if they had spent their whole lives down here. "Est perlonge." [It is very far.]

The other figures started taking off their masks as well. "Sumus ex vos summam?" [Are you from the surface?] asked a brunette man.

"Torisus est, similis, ineptus," [Toris that's, like, silly.] said a blond man with a crown of flowers in his hair, shaking his head.

"Ita," [Yes] replied Matthew. Toris smiled and the blond man pouted.

Lovino groaned. "Can we please get to the point already?"

"You know we can, like, understand you, right?" said the blond man.

Everyone's jaws dropped while Toris facepalmed. "Feliksus..." [Feliks] he muttered.

Ivan chuckled. "Come, you must meet my father. It has been a long time since we have had visitors." He gestured for them to follow.

Minutes later, the group was rolling down the side of the mountain. People looked out their windows curiously. Some waved while others ducked back inside. Inside one of the trucks, Oliver and Luciano sat. Oliver was frosting a cupcake. "You know love," he said to Luciano, "there weren't supposed to be people down here. We're going to have to change our plans."

Luciano smacked the cupcake out of Oliver's hands. "This. Changes. Nothing," he snapped while Oliver mourned his fallen cupcake comrade.

* * *

 **R.I.P. Oliver's cupcake. Sorry for the short chapter. In the next chapter, we meet the King, well, Czar, of Teplo. Any guesses for who it is?**

 **Ta!**


End file.
